Evolution
by Bubonicc
Summary: Sequel to "Awakening" : Maria finds herself lost, not sure how to take to the new foe she encounters, this could be her undoing. With her Guardian Ratchet she has to now take down the man Her father was working for, and he has an even bigger end goal.
1. Prologue

I tried to scream, but all that came out was this horrifying roar that was not my own. I couldn't think, I couldn't collect myself, I couldn't even find myself in my scattered mind. I didn't know what was happening, I was scared. I couldn't feel my heartbeat, and it scared me, I wasn't breathing, and it scared me. My body was not right, something was wrong. But the voices, they keep ringing in my head, I cannot concentrate.

* * *

_Kill_

* * *

I won't.

I howled again, hearing the same roar. I stood, on legs that did not belong to me and looked at my hands. My Optics looked at my Metalic clawed finger tips, unable to process what was happening.

**Kill**


	2. A Not So Fresh Start

Throwing a bucket of water of Ratchets hood, Maria slapped a sponge down on him and scrubbed. Both Ratchet and Optimus had been hard at work freeing the remaining Decepticons and Autobots from their laboratory prisons. Lucky for them they found Drift in time before he became spare parts. After the fall of Marias father, most of the labs became quickly abandoned for the fear of the transformer attacks. Though the super soldiers were still out there. The ones that had survived the California building collapse anyway. She had hoped they would over use their powers and overdose on them just kill themselves off without her having to become any more involved. After Ratchet had brought her home from the hospital months ago, Maria spent a long time just sitting around. Ratchet wouldn't allow her to do much anyway, he fears the dark energon that had flown there her once would come back to haunt her, but the storm had seemed to pass. She healed, and they moved on.

Maria had allowed the Autobots to use her house and extra land for a resting area, or a base, whatever they liked. It was the least she could do. As more bots came back from the laboratories, the more she could learn from ratchet as he patched them up. The first was Drift, missing an arm when he arrived, but Ratchet was a miracle worker and fixed it like it was no metal off his back. He taught Maria their anatomy and biology, though a lot went over her head, she was none the less fascinated. Ratchet taught her how to fix difficult breaches and wire splits, and several other things that allowed her to patch up bots and hand them off to Ratchet while he worked on others. Most recently they had arrived back from a side mission, covered in mud, no doubt a scouting mission.

"Do you guys even...shower on your planet?" Squeezing the sponge, soap coursed down Ratchets sides as Maria scrubbed the mud from his side panels.

"Things on Cyberton are very different from your planets culture."

"No doubt." Showering him with the hose, his paint shimmered in the hot sun.

"But yes, we do clean, just not in the same way your kind does."

"Maybe one day you will see it."

"Cybertron?"

"Mhm." Ratchet transformed, dumping built up water right onto Maria, finding her angry reaction humorous. "When it is restored. I think you would like it. Maybe Optimus will even let you build something. Some new art."

"It would take me forever to build something that large, even as an art piece." Ringing out her shirt, she sighed. "Plus, I only have another sixty something years left to live my life. We don't have your life spans. Sometimes I don't want to think about it now." Ratchet offered her his hand and she climbed in and sat.

"What do you mean?"

"Well. Your kind lives for millions of years easily. While mine maxes out at one hundred. It hurts something to think that I am not even a mere fraction of your life. Not even a decimal close to zero. In another million years you will probably have forgotten about me." She had her back against one of his large fingers, looking rather upset.

"I don't think so. Even for a human..." He blinked his large optics, "You are hard to forget."

"Ratchet it right." Optimus walked over, just as dirty as ever. "The humans who have played a vital part in our rolls will never be forgotten. You have done our kind a great honor."

"I wouldn't say that. I am just human after all." Her hand grazed her stomach, feeling the scare that was left by her burn wound. "We are not perfect and have a long way to go before we can even be as great as your kind. Space travel to your level will never exist in my lifetime. Just to the moon and back. And some land rovers is all my generation has to offer really."

"You will be fine." Optimus smiled, and it was one that could lift a depressing vale it was so genuine.

"You guys _have to_ promise me," She jumped out of Ratchets hand, "That when you leave here for good...you will come back. Just...come back and visit sometimes. It's just me and Donny now. But Donny has his own family so it's really just me here. Just come back once and a while. Free wash and dry if you do." She made them laugh.

"Sure thing kid." Crosshairs said from afar, he was laying on his back in the cornfield, crushing the crops. His hands behind his head and his visor down, he was taking a transformers equivalent of a cat nap.

"You don't have to bring him back." Maria whispered to Ratchet and grunted in response.

"I heard that." Crosshairs huffed.

"I'm kidding." Maria trotted her way over to the big green bot and jumped on his arm, hanging there a moment and laughing. Crosshairs shook her a bit, trying to get her to let go.

"We are safe for now." Optimus said to ratchet, the two of them watching Maria and Crosshairs tussle.

"For now." Ratchet sighed, crossing his arms. "What did you find out."

"Maria's father," Optimus paused, "Was not the only one involved in the recent abductions. Though everything has been quiet for months now, I fear that our new foe has already set his plans to motion. We learned in the past that Marias father was furthering the humans evolution by combining it with our own genetic material. I fear they are continuing, but with Shockwaves technology now."

"How do you know this?" Ratchet tried not to look alarmed, but shockwave was a mad scientist, having done horrific deeds back on Cybertron.

"When I located Drift, he had maintained bits of information as he was transferred from facility to faculty. Drift confirms seeing Shockwaves equipment in some of the bases."

"What kinds."

"We are not sure yet, it was in pieces because of transport, but it is best that we find out soon. If we are lucky, the humans may not know what they have yet. They are still unsure on how to use our own technology."

"Maybe, but if they have someone working for them, it would be a lot easier."Ratchet rubbed his chin and sighed. "How soon do you want us to move out?"

"Not for a few weeks at least. We are still recovering and rest if needed." he put a hand on his old friends shoulder.

"Oh I'm fine. I'm old but I'm fine." His grump tone came up quickly, but he smiled. "Besides you now have two great medics. Maria is learning well."

"Having her hand is making recovery time smoother. We are lucky to cross the paths of so many humans with sparks of gold."

"Hearts." Ratchet corrected, not looking at Optimus as his old friend looked at him.

"The teaching goes both ways." The Prime smiled, looking back to the field, seeing Crosshairs chasing the girl. "We still have a long way to go."

"And Maria. Do you think she is safe?" Ratchet finally looked at Optimus. The Prime had never pictured Ratchet becoming so attached, but he did.

"I am unsure. If we are dealing with the head of this company, and Marias father was only a pawn in the game, she could still be at risk. Though her powers are drained, she is still in essence part of us. And that makes her valuable for research. Though we know she is drained, the enemy may not think so. They may see her as a threat and come after her again and again. But I am unsure. It has been to quiet. Even decepticon activity is low. I do not blame them. They probably think being abducted is still a threat, and I do believe it is too."

"Hmm..." Ratchet sighed, shaking his head. "The only thing we can do now is wait for our enemy to make the first move. Until then, we should enjoy the quiet as much as we can." The two bots tensed as a loud thoom sounded. Crosshairs had fallen, sliding on the ground and grabbing Maria in his large hands. She was laughing, and they all did too.

* * *

The fire crackled as Maria tossed another log into it. Sitting down, she looked up at the stars, sighing.

"You think my mom is floating around up there?" She didn't look at Ratchet who was sitting close by.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure is watching over you. Hehe, I bet you would love to see a spark come from the Well. It's quite a sight to see."

"The Well?"

"The Well of Allsparks. It is where my kind are born from. We are in a sense spit out of it and take from on its outsides."

"I wish it was like that for humans. But our souls are a little more complex. They just...happen I guess. I don't know where they come from. Or where they go once we die."

"It's just better to be a robot." The medic joked, and put his feet close to the fire, though it had no real warming effect on him.

"I can dance the robot but that's all I got." Maria laid back in the grass. "Do you think Optimus is mad at me?"

Ratchet looked down at her, puzzled. "Why do you think he us angry at you."

"Optimus is all about not killing humans, and I killed my father. I was just hoping I didn't disappoint him."

"Ah, I see..." Ratchet looked away, his optics glowing in the night. "I don't think he is. Optimus is not without reason. Don't worry." Scooping her up, he put her on his shoulder and stood. "Let's walk." Ratchet usually did this every night with her, he often spoke to her about his own world and they traded stories.

"I know it has been a while, but I feel better now." She spoke of her injuries that would keep her up at night. "I have some interesting scars but I can manage them."Holding on to him as he walked, she enjoyed the breeze.

"Have you felt any signs of your powers returning?"

"No, nothing. I feel like I did before all this happened. Normal I guess. Nothing out of the ordinary. I'm not sure yet if I am okay with it, or if I miss it. Getting things from far away would have been a lot easier with the powers." She laughed but Ratchet only grunted in response.

"I hope you stay as human as possible." He walked through the corn field, crushing the crops under his massive feet.

"Well if I lose an arm I'm sure you could build me an awesome replacement." She winked at him and he gave her a disapproving look. "I'm kidding you grump."

"I just remade you a new communication bracelet. Try not to break this one, or lose it."

"I didn't break or lose the other once, it was crushed with me."

"Then don't get crushed this time." He was joking this time, taking her off his shoulder and holding her in his hand. She looked up at him, smiling.

"Ratchet, thank you for everything. I really appreciate what you and the others have done. The human race may not thank you the way they should but I will."

"All in a day's work." he set her down in the grass so they could both walk back to the house.

"I think I'll build myself a set of armor, so the next battle I get into I'll be ready." She ran ahead of him. "Like a set of knight armor. And a sword."

"I would rather you stay as far away from combat as you can."

"Just because you saw me take a beating doesn't mean I cannot fight. I cannot fight well, but I can fight like a crazed dog." She punched the air a few times, throwing in some kicks.

"Yes, I'm sure the enemies will be shaking in their boots." His tone was sarcastic and Maria kicked his foot, though it didn't even register to him. "If you want to learn to fight..." He stepped over her, "you would want to talk to Crosshairs, or Drift. Maybe even Bumblebee. Bee is more your size, you would probably learn better from him."

"When I can manifest guns from my arms maybe. But until then maybe it is best I watch Mortal Kombat and just take some tips from them."

"_Mortal Komba_t?" Ratchet's brows came together in thought as they reached the house.

"Goodnight Ratchet."

"You too, Maria." With that, he watched her enter the house and he was alone outside. Transforming, he drove to the front of the house and settled down there, guarding the front door.

* * *

Maria was restless in her sleep, it must have been around 3A.M when her eyes shot open. A bright white glow emitted from her eyes, and she whispered a language that was not her own. She spoke more and more until she arose from the bed and stood. Walking to the center of her room, her head turned slightly. She whispered her foreign language, as if she was speaking to somebody.

_Human?_

The voice or voices in her mind spoke to her.

_Human._

Maria suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes still glowing, she seemed to stare off now.

_One of us?_

_One of us?_

_No._

_NO!_

Dropping to her knees, she covered her ears as the last word screamed through her mind. Eyes returning to normal, she opened them.

"W-what?" Uncovering her ears and looking around, she found herself in the middle of the corn field. The wind picked up and rustled around the crops, making her surrounding eerie. She stood, confused and lost in the dark. "How did I get here?" She turned at the sound of engines roaring.

Ratchet burst though the corn, his headlights blinding her a moment.

"Maria! There you are." He transformed quickly and knelt down by her.

"Here I am?" He saw the look of confusion.

"You don't remember? You walked right out of the house. You wouldn't talk to me. You just had this blank look on our face, your eyes were closed. I followed you but then you just took off running and I lost you in the corn. You don't remember anything?" He watched her shake her head.

"No. I was sleeping..." She tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. "Can we go back to the house? It's cold out here." She was shivering and Ratchet shifted and let her into his back seats.

"Yes, of course." Driving off, ratchet only made it half way before skidding to a half, transforming with Maria inside, she ended up in his hands when he was in open form. She was limp, eyes aglow. "Maria!" He shook her gently, but no response. She just laid there a while before finally she began to whisper. Ratchet leaned close, his Optics flashing when he understood what she was saying.

**"Cybertronian?"**


	3. The Shadow Man

**Hello! And sorry this took so long I am now back in College and am busy! These chapters may now be as long as the previous story only because my time is limited now, so chapters are now up a lot slower than usual.**

* * *

"How do you know this will work?" The assist seemed doubtful. "Most of the labs have been destroyed or abandoned."

"I know it will work because we have all we need. Production has already started and the remaining troops are being fitted into their new suits." A deep voice said from the shadows of his office. "Faze one has come and gone, now we can move onto the real goal. Thanks to Mr. Cooper, we have obtained enough energon and parts. And thanks to his daughter, I know she will make the perfect fit for the Elite."

"Mr. Cooper was killed by his own daughter."

"Exactly why I think she will be perfect. Plus, with the beckon activated, all the subjects should be finding their way here for us."

"Sir, the troops who are under or control have little to no will power, while Coopers daughter had enough to keep from the mind control, what makes you think you will be able to catch her so easily?"

"From what spy reports say, she cannot use her abilities currently, which means her mental block is now weakened. That means the beckon will call to her. Though I doubt the beckon will fully bring her here, unlike the others." Glancing out his office window into the lab below, the shadowed man watched as troops lined up one by one. "Even with her blocks down, she will still resist. That's just how she is. Her mother was the same. I will make a personal visit."

"Are you sure you want to make that kind of a risk with her protection?"

"Don't worry. I have a plan to bait them away from her just long enough. Her bots are still looking for their comrades. I have a few still trapped, I will allow them to call for help, which in turn gets the bots away from Maria while they save their others."  
"Leaving her alone. I understand." The assistant bowed and looked out the window, watching the troops being shocked to the ground.

* * *

Ratchet stood there in misbelieve. Trying to keep Maria from walking around him, he blocked her with his large hand.

"Maria..." He said, but she kept walking, her soft mumbling continued.

_Come to me..._

_Come to me..._

The voice rang in Marias head, but as Ratchet started to call her name out louder and louder the voice was drowned out and her eyes flickered. The glowing blue faded and her normal eyes appeared.

"Maria...look at me!" Ratchet had her in his hand, pulled up to his face.

"I'm looking." She leaned back, a little frightened from the sudden close up. "Why are you holding me outside in the fields?"

"You walked out here on your own!" Setting her down, he knelt and held out his arm, a light scanning Maria.

"What are you doing?"

"Scanning you for anything that might be doing this..." He trailed off before scanning her a second then a third time. "This doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't..." A hint of worry was in her voice.

"Your scan comes up normal, but when I do a brain scan...my scanner just comes up with static." He tapped his arm with a large finger, hoping it would clear the scan but it didn't. "I don't understand..."

"I don't either." Rubbing her head, Maria sighed, a massive head ache on its way. "Maybe it's just my powers acting up or something."

"Maybe..." Ratchet didn't look at her. "But I could hear you speaking cybertronian. I couldn't make out what you were saying, you were mumbling.

"You have been teaching me how to read it though."

" I know but...it just didn't sound right to me." He picked her up and walked back to her house.

"So I sleep walk. A lot of people do it."

"I am sure that most don't speak an alien language while they do it."

"Do you always worry this much?" She was not surprised by the medics silence.

"Usually..."

* * *

Morning game with loud engine roars, and Maria sat up quickly in bet. Running to her balcony, she opened it and looked down to the cars.

"What's going on?" Her hair was cow-licked and she looked as pale as a ghost.

"We got a signal from the last of the bots." Optimus was the only one who was still standing. "Smokescreen, Cliffjumer, and Tailgate have been located. They are the last of the missing autobots."

"You're all going?"

"We need all the extra power we can get, plus if anyone is wounded, Ratchet can patch them up." Optimus transformed into his alt mode and drove off, the others close behind except Ratchet who transformed and stood up to the balcony.

"Don't worry we will be fine." He smiled, a rare sight indeed. "I will contact you when we are coming back." He took her little wrist and touched the golden bracelet. But he could see the worry on her face. "You won't lose me again."

"I know...but..." She stopped and looked down. "Never mind. Just be safe okay." Leaning off the edge a little, she kissed his large nose for good luck.

Nodding, he turned and ran, jumping forwards and slamming down in his alt mode and zooming off to catch up with the others. Leaving Maria alone.

* * *

Sparks flew all around as the flame licked at the metal. Maria's visor down, she finished a seem and took a step back, looking at her work. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed, life was a lot more boring without giant robots tossing you around. So boring that she wondered how she even managed her life without them. Standing around a while, she finally went back to work, though not for much longer before tossing her mask down and falling back on a pile of scrap that she smoothed out for a rather interesting chair.

"This sucks..." She finally said, rubbing sweat from her forehead. Looking up at the sky, she thought back to the morning, and what she didn't tell Ratchet. Deep down she was hurting. Now that Ratchet and Optimus had their team back, they would leave her, going about whatever they had done before running into her. And it broke her heart to think of it, but she didn't want to bring it up with the bots. If they were going to move on...they would. She was just a human after all. A small human who could be crushed by one of them with a single step or flex of the hand. Bing around them would only burden them, and that broke her heart even more.

"You're work doesn't have the same glow it used too." Donny came up from behind her.

"Just haven't been feeling it I guess." She didn't look at him.

"Where is your ambulance?"

"Out...on a mission with the others."

"Hmm, I'm surprised they didn't take you, that green one is always taking you places."

"Ratchet liked to bring me around. One night we went to a drive in, though I don't think he liked The Shining as much as I did." A small smile crept on her face as she thought about the medic constantly asking questions about the movie. "Besides, I can't fight like they can. Not until I can grow a gun out of my arm anyway."

"Lets how that never happens." Donny laughed and sat down next to her, looking over the scrap yard. "You wanna tell me what happened to your father?" He looked at her with soft eyes, and she looked away.

"He's won't be around here anymore." Her jaw line twitched as she gritted her teeth. "Not for a while anyway."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened while you were away?"

"No." She answered right out. "It's better that way, trust me." Standing, she walked over to her construction, which looked a lot like a transformer, though only a few feet taller than her. "Doesn't look right..." She kicked it and sighed.

"Don't be too hard on yourself...and don't stay out here too long. The weather is getting chilly now." With that he walked back to his office, though only a few minutes later Maria heard something all to familiar.

Gun shot

She was running, her gear being thrown off as she burst into Donny's office and screamed. Donny, shot in the back, lay on the floor, blood pooling around him quickly.

"No! **No**!**_ No_**!" Falling to his side, tears were already streaming down her face. "Donny!" Her hand was over the bullet wound, though the blood still seeped though her finger.

"Don't worry, he's not dead yet." A voice from the shadows said. "Not yet at least." Stepping forwards, a tall man with bright blond hair and bright blue eyes became visible. Though his eyes were clearly optics in a human skull. "And he may just live if you do as I ask."

"Who are you..." Poison was in Maria's voice, the pens and cups on Donny's desk began to rattle.

"The man who created you so to speak." He looked to the desk and smirked. "Your telekinesis is weak from the fight you had." He moved closer and knelt down in front of her, letting her get a good look of his eyes. "I know it is. You and I are the same you know." Maria was suddenly thrown back, slammed against the wall as if a hand was wrapped around her throat. She gasped and kicked out her legs but it was useless.

"You're father and I have been working together for a long time, even before he met your mother and had you. You're father may have though he created something great, but he only managed to replicate what I am." He released Maria and she slid to the floor. "You see, your father and I have always wanted to further human kinds limits. In health, strength, speed, anything." he winked his optics at her. "Sight."

"You can't speed up evolution. The universe demands balance. If you tip the scale, you will be the one who gets hurt."

"Oh my sweet child, do you forget you are on my side of the scale? You can pretend you are normal all you want, but you are part of the Elites. I have successfully made a handful of you. All the others, you know about them, exhaust their powers and die, but the Elites always survive. You should consider yourself lucky."

"Why would I be lucky." She had her hands on Donny's wound again, trying to slow the bleeding.

"Because you get to be part of the next movement. How exciting!" He clapped his hands together.

"What makes you think I will do what you want?" She shot up and tried to throw a punch but it was stopped in mid air by his abilities.

"You can either come with me willingly..." He felt her fist in the air and smirked at her frustrated face, "Or I can kill your friend here and the others. Your little bots you tried so hard to save from your father. But just so you know, we still got all we needed anyway." He laughed, letting her go and watching her fall forwards. The pictures on the walls began to rattle now, the more rage she built up, the more she could feel her head pulsing. Calling on her powers as loud as she could she just wish they would come back, she needed them most right now.

"I won't."

"Well then, I'll just have my men take out the bots who went for the beckon we placed." A maddening grin spread on his face as he saw the horror on her face. "Yes that's right, they are going into something I created. And only you have the power to let them get out alive. So you either come with me and they get away, or I kill them and take you away."

Maria was silent for a while, and the room stopped rattling, and she slammed her fist on the ground. "You're a sick man." Standing, she looked down at Donny, her golden bracelet placed in his hand. "If I come with you...You have to promise me you won't harm the bots. If you do I will do as I did to my father...to you." If fire could burst from her eyes it would.

_"That's a good girl."_


	4. Returning the Favor

Every inch of Maria's being screamed for her to not get into the car, but the Shadowed man was close behind her, encouraging her to keep moving. Opening the door for her, he watched her hesitate.

"Go on..." His optics flickered in warning, and the breeze picked up. "Don't worry, I'm not into the whole blind fold and gag thing. You can ride in the passenger seat like normal." He smiled when she got in and closed the door. "That's a good girl." Getting in on his side, he drove away, leaving the town and everything she had left behind.

"What do you want with me?" After a long silence, Maria finally spoke up.

"What we have always wanted. To better ourselves. You will know more when we get to where we want to be."

"What do I call you, other than murderer?" She hissed, thinking of Donny laying on the ground bleeding out slowly.

"My company calls me by my formal name, but you will know me as Salvatore. Your fathers boss so to speak."

"My father is dead because of what you did."

"On the contrary, he is dead because of himself. He knew the risks. I will assume he already told you that you were not the first he pulled this experiment on?"

"I know..."

"He liked to step over the line, and that's why I made him head of the company with me; because he knew how to break the boundaries."

"You are responsible for both human and transformer deaths."

"Humans won't have to worry about that for much longer. Your father and I made a break though. And it does not matter how many bots are lost, they came here, and they are fair game to us. We humans are on top here, and we will prove we are on top in the galaxy by taking down all of them if we have too."

"They saved our lives...how could you just...kill them and scrap them, like that? We are supposed to be highly emotional creatures, we should feel pain and sorry when things like this happen. Not take pleasure in killing an alien race off to prove we have the bigger guns."

"Humans are still weak, but not for much longer. Your father and I have broken free and have opened the gate to something amazing."

"Or horrifying."

"You are still so young, the world is not a nice place, Maria." Salvatore's optics glowed slightly brighter. "And things out there are even worse. We need to push the humans to the breaking point for us to keep up."

"Or we could just live the way we are...with the transformers. Together. They have protected us and you reward them by doing this? Hurting Ratchet? And Optimus, and the others? Killing the others? You are no better than my father, if not worse. You're crazy with a suit on." She heard him laugh.

"I like you kid. You will do perfectly..."

"Whatever that means." All along the ride, Maria kept tapping into her powers, trying as hard as she could for the fire to burn at her fingertips but at best she got a light tingle. Still too weak to call on them, she felt defenseless.

"Oh don't worry, all will be reviled in time." He placed a hand on her thigh.

* * *

Optimus rolled through the building, his blaster drawn and charged, expecting human resistance, but getting nothing when he came to a stop. Scanning around the lab, he could see his autobots in the cages, but nothing else except empty desks and work stations.

"Clear." The Prime pulled his blaster back into his arm and moved towards the cells, wrenching them open and freeing his bots.

"Man am I glad to see you!" Smokescreen stepped from his cell and stretched his hot rod paint glistening in the light.

"I was worried the place was going to be nuked." Cliffjumper said from behind him.

"Why do you say this?" Optimus kept looking around the area while Ratchet looked over the bots.

"All the humans just up and left a few days ago. Left us here without saying anything. Not that they really talked to us much other than "Gimme your blood"' Tailgate was next, much shorter than all the others, his little white face was covered in grime, as if he had gotten into a tussle.

"Labs have been abandoned lately..." Crosshairs spun his pistols on his finger and kicked some desks, enjoying the mass amounts of paper flying around. "Not surprising."

"This is different..." Optimus had a distant look in his face, "All of the labs that had been abandoned never had bots in them, just office space. Why would they leave something they worked to catch? It doesn't make sense."

"Unless they already got what they were looking for and were nice enough to let the rest of us go." Smokescreen was the first to transform, skidding out of the building and enjoying the freedom.

"What are you thinking, Optimus?" Ratchet moved close to his friend, concerned.

"I think our attention is being taken off of something they do not want us to interfere with." The Prime was still deep in thought, trying to think of what could possibly have been the cause while Ratchet stiffened.

"_Maria_!" Nearly Knocking Optimus over, Ratchet threw himself outside and sped off. Optimus followed behind with the others but Ratchet left them in the dust.

* * *

Ratchet slide sideways down Marias dirt driveway, transforming in mid slide, he nearly rammed the house, accidently putting his hand through once side of the roof.

"Maria!" Frustrated at his large size, he couldn't see inside well enough, but not having seen Maria come out of her balcony right away already told him she was not there. Pacing around the house, he waited a moment more before transforming and racing to the scrap yard.

"Donny!" The medic shouted, climbing over the scrap walls and knocking on the roof of the small office. Though he hadn't seen Donny sitting on the front bench right away, his hand covering a blood spot. "Donny what happened!" Ratchet knelt down, scanning the man and getting flashing signs on his scanner that Donny was in critical condition. The man was as white as a ghost and could barely sit up right, he had dragged himself from inside the office to outside on the bench.

"I was hoping..." He took a breath, "Would come back before I...couldn't stay awake..." Holding out his hand, he showed Ratchet the golden bracelet. A look of sorry was on his face. "They took her." Placing the bracelet in Ratchets palm, he leaned back and closed his eyes. "Please...bring her back...you have too..." The man was struggling desperately to talk. "She refused to give up on you when they took you...do the same for her..."

"Stay with me!"Ratchet shouted, but Donny was fading fast, who knew how long he had been sitting there, no ambulance that was promised to Maria had come for him. Salvatore really did leave him for dead.

"Ratchet..." Donny, inhaled sharply, "You're all she has now...Don't...let..._her_..._down_..."

Ratchet lowered his head, silently mourning Donny's passing before he stood up, rage in his blue optics.

"I _won't_."

* * *

The building Salvatore lead Maria in was huge, and someplace she had not recognized. They had driven for hours and hours and she had lost track of where she was. In unknown territory and without a way to contact the others, she felt like a little kid lost in a store, but worse.

"Don't seem so tense." Salvatore guided her though a maze of hallways.

"Why would I be?"

"I can sense it in you. Plus you keep looking around for exits and windows, but the further in we get there are less and less." He opened a door to a huge lab, very similar to the ones she had rescued the bots from. Inside this one was different. On the walls there were bots standing up, and on the opposite wall, mechanical beast, resembling griffons and dragons.

"Are they dead?" She was looking at the husks, not seeing their optics aglow.

"No, just empty. These are not the bots you know, the good or bad. These are ours. We created these from the parts of others we collected, then made our own sets. They are fully functional with a driver."

"So they are suits?"

"You could say that...but the driver does not get into it. I managed to obtain some rather interesting research from a transformer who could transfer the minds of one being into another."

"You want to put a human mind in one of those things?"

"I already have, though the results are less than satisfying. Most of the drivers die after one round of suit function. When their mind comes back from the suit, it's in pieces they...well...go crazy. But with the Elites, like you and I, we are able to maintain our mental status better."

"You have gotten into a suit?"

"Not yet, I prefer to use after I know it will work." His Optics rotated as they scanned the room. "Humans have always wanted to be better, faster, and stronger, and with these we can be. We used to think having mechanical limbs would be great, but imagine a whole body? You won't age, you won't get sick, nothing can harm you."

"Except ourselves and others in the suits."

"Though that is true, we have a fall back for that. In each of my Elite, we have placed special programming chips into their minds, allowing us to control their every move."

"Not only have you experimented on these people in horrible ways you are now going to brainwash them to do what you want? What makes you think I will let you get away with this." She stepped forwards, challenging Salvatore.

"Because you get to be the first to try out the new suits, including the chips, just like my other troops." Gesturing towards the tables with men and woman laying on them, they all seemed as if they were sleeping. "They are all brain dead, because their minds are trapped in the suits until I return them to their bodies. My own personal army. But they are all just troops, I need your mind to be the top." He could see her stepping back, and he advanced on her.

"Why do you need an army?" Looking to her sides franticly, she could see lab workers moving in on her, and it all seemed to familiar.

"To bring peace! If you put the humans in their place they won't rebel, then we can move on to others, like the Transformer race. We can put them in their place as well. Once your mind is transferred into the suit, the first order you will have is to kill your friends." A wave of power hit Salvatore but it only caused him to take a step back. "And with your powers returning now, your mind is becoming stronger and stronger, which gives me faith you will survive the transplant." Another wave hit him but he laughed it off and slammed Maria to the floor with his own push, pinning her.

"You can't do this!" She cried out, trying her best to get up. "You're going to kill innocent people! Innocent bots! They have done nothing to harm us! You can't!" The floor cracked beneath her as her own powers struggled to push herself up.

"Don't be so upset," Salvatore knelt down by her, enjoying her frantic flailing, "You should be honored you are making a leap in time for the betterment of mankind.

"I'll kill you! I'll _Kill_ you!"

"Save it for your friends."

**"I'LL KILL YOU!"**


	5. The Slaves

_It hurts!_

_Everything hurts!_

_What's happening!?_

_Where am I?_

_The massive beast bucked, snapping at the restrains that kept it in place. Low growls escaped the metallic mouth followed by a loud howl._

_Not my voice._

_Not mine!_

_Something is wrong!_

_Not my body!_

"Relax!" A voice boomed over the beasts thrashing, causing it to hold still and focus it's optics. "Yes that's it, just relax. The first patch is always the most painful." Salvatore paced around the beast.

"Sir, the reading are stabilizing. The Predicon suit is functioning to capacity." The lab assistant didn't look at Salvatore, rather continued typing on his terminal. "The beacon has not been activated yet, so she has free run of the body."

"Keep the beacon off until I say, I want her to see what we have done." Walking over to a table, the Predicons optics following him. Salvatore came to a stop and stroked Marias cheek. "So peaceful, don't you think? If anybody came in here they would think you were sleeping. But, in reality you are brain dead until your mind is transferred back from the suit to you." Salvatore pointed to a monitor with Marias heart rate on it, though the brain wave line was flat-lining. "You should be thanking me though. We lost a lot of great soldiers learning how to transfer minds properly. Lost a lot of suits, hard to rebuild the with the limited bots on the planet. The only downfalls to the suits are that you cannot use your abilities in them. Since you telekinesis is linked to your natural body and not your new one. There is also the danger that if your suit gets damaged enough or destroyed, your mind goes with it. And you really will be a hunk of flesh on my table with no hope of returning to your body." He watched the monster try to jerk forwards, but the chains kept her in place. She snorted and growled and her mouth opened and closed in a desperate attempt to say something.

"Rrrrrr_nnoooooo_!" The roar came out and she dug her claws into the floor, her tail slamming to the ground.

"I know it's not a very nice experience, but you don't have to worry about it. The beacon which I designed will input coding into your head via special control chips. The chips will get the signal from the beacon and force you to do as I say. You will be able to see it all but won't be able to stop yourself. Just a precaution I had implanted in all of the suits in case one of my soldiers had other ideas." Walking over to the terminal, he began to type, as he pressed enter, Marias suit jerked up right, standing perfect. "The first order of business is to test you out, see how well you perform on the field with simple orders."

_Stop_

_Stop_

_I can't move._

_Say something!_

_Move damn it!_

Marias mind swirled in anger in the beasts head, as if her very essence was smashing up against its inner walls.

_Move!_

_Please move!_

The suit's tail twitched, and Salvatore noticed. Crossing his arms, he only seemed amused.

"You can fight it all you want, and you may be able to fight it off in some areas, but you are mine now. You always have been, even before you were born. You are a product of my company and I will do with you as I please. And the first thing I would like you to do is show your friends what we are made of." Snapping his fingers, the assistant began typing in commands for Marias body to follow. Behind her, more suits activated, their heads rising and red optics glowing menacingly. The restraints dropped to the floor as Salvatore freed Maria, satisfied that she couldn't fight back against the beacons signal.

_Fight it!_

_Fight it!_

Marias Predicon suits Optics flickered red then back to blue as she tried to force the body to listen to her.

_Please!_

_Please!_

The optics continued to flash between the colors as her mind struggled. Salvatore stood back and watched, enjoying the internal struggle.

"Nothing like your own body turning against you, huh?" He leaned back on the table Maria's body was on. "Predicons!" He suddenly shouted, and all of the suits turned the heads to face him, "Follow Alfa and Omega!" He pointed at Marias suit. "Alfa and Omega will lead you!" He pointed at another large Predicon next to Maria, though unlike her fully gray body, his was perfectly white.

Behind her and Omega were about four other suits, or what Salvatore referred to as the Elites, the ones like her who could withstand the mind transfer.

"Your first orders are to go out and find the escaped bots and terminate them at any cost. Bring back their bodies so we may use the parts to continue building new suits. It is also important we take whatever energon they have, since we are still in need of it." Pressing the enter button on the terminal, the Predicons all spread their massive wings that resembled large fabric like solar panels. They screeched as a large section of the ceiling began to open, sunlight pouring in, they jumped up, taking off into the sky and for their targets.

* * *

Ratchet and the others had been speeding down the highway, the gang behind Ratchet not really sure where he was going.

"Ratchet!" Optimus pulled alongside of him, having trouble keeping up with the old bot. "Do you have an idea of where she might be? Most of the labs are empty."

Optimus suddenly drove by Ratchet as the medic slammed on his breaks, causing everyone behind him to veer away from him. He transformed and slammed his fist on the ground, anger on his face.

"No! But I have to try somewhere! I know where some of the labs are but I don't know if she is there but it is all I have!" He smacked Crosshairs off his shoulder when the green bot tried to talk to him. "Don't even say it. Not like last time. I'm not leaving her again." He paced for a while, not sure what to do. "I have to find her Optimus." He finally said as he turned to the Prime.

"Don't worry old friend. We will. You just have to be patient." Prime put his hands on Ratchets shoulders, trying to reassure him. "She is strong. She learned from the best of us."

"They killed Donny, Prime. And we don't know if the Decepticons have a roll in this. I doubt it, but it could be a possibility that they struck a deal with the humans to keep themselves safe." He was pacing again.

"What do you think the cons would want with a human?"

"I don't know!" Ratchet snapped, his foot stomping to the ground, startling the others. "I...I don't know." He turned his backs to the others, but they all turned to a loud screeching noise.

"What in Primsu was that?" Crosshairs lowered his goggled and looked into the sky, then took a step back. "Bloody hell..." His goggles magnified and he growled. "We have company!" He drew his guns, followed by the others.

"What is it?" Optimus moved them all off of the road and into the wooded area.

"Looked like Predicons!"

"_Predicons!_? How?" Ratchet jerked his arms, two blades slide from inside of his wrists.

"Who the hell knows, just kill'em!" Crosshairs rolled as one of the Elites swooped down, swiping at him, tearing a piece of his coat.

Optimsu fired, hitting Omegas wing, sending him into a crash landing. Rising from the crater, Omega howled, his tail whipping around and grabbing Crosshairs leg and whipped him around. Optimus charged, tackling the monster and grabbing him by his horns, wrestling the best to the ground.

"Careful! They are quick!" Ratchet rammed his arm through one of the Elites chests, twisting his arm and yanking it out, then throwing the husk to the ground.

_Stop!_

_Please stop!_

"RRRrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaa!" Alfa charged Ratchet, ramming her horns into him, she pinned him hard against a tree. Her red optics ablaze as she continued the pressure.

_Stop!_

_Please!_

_I can't stop myself!_

_Ratchet it's me!_

_Please!_

Ratchet cried out as his chest was slowly crushed, quickly he jammed his bladed hand into one of Alfa's shoulders, causing the beast to jerk back and howl in agony.

_Ah!_

_Please Ratchet!_

_It's me!_

_Maria!_

Ratchet charged, a loud battle cry erupted from him as he spun, the blade coming around and slicing open Alfas front chest plates. Energon splashed out and the beast staggered back, a clawed hand placed over the wound. She glared at him, steam erupting from her nostrils as she paced around him, hissing and clicking her fangs together.

"RrrRRrraaAAAAaaaa!"

"I'll kill every last one of you if I have too!" Charging again, Ratchet collided with Alfa, knocking her onto her back, but she used her wing to swat him off, then spinning, her tail tripped him. Slamming on his back roughly, he gasped when Alfa jumped onto his chest, getting close to his face, she opened her mouth and roared, saliva and energon spraying the Medics face. Grabbing her top and bottom jaw, he held her in place, struggling to keep her from biting his head off.

_Help me Ratchet!_

_Help me!_

_I can't stop!_

_It hurts!_

_Please!_

Ratchet threw Alfas head to the side, causing her to ram her nose into the ground. With his free hand, he jammed the blade though her chest and twisted, satisfied at the loud squeal that came out. Alfa jumped back, Energon pouring from the hole.

"Tell me where Maria is!" Ratchet said as he got to his feet, panting. Claw marks ran up his arms and the side of his face. He watched Alfa pace, limping on her left side.

"Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaat-" She was cut off when Ratchet slammed his fist to the side of her head, jerking her back to hard her neck rammed a tree and snapped it.

_Please stop!_

_It hurts_

_It hurts!_

_Ratchet please!_

Ratchet walked over to the sparking Predicon, one of her horns now broken off. A large tree splinter had gone through her neck, hindering her from getting up. All she could see though her red optics was the outline of the medic and his bright blue optics staring down at her in the most terrifying way. His hands where clenched into fists, and he slammed a foot down on her stomach, causing her to roar.

"RRRRraaaaaaa-" She gagged, watching as Ratchet extended his blades again, getting ready for the final blow. He raised his arm and went for the blow but stopped second before impact.

Energon flowed out of Alfas eyes, almost as if she was crying, and now her Optics were a bright blue. Flickering as Ratchets blade grazed her throat.

"**_Rrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa-ttcheeeeeeet_**..." Came the low voice in pained gasps. "RRRrrrrraaaaaaaa-" The blue optics flickered back to red and she jerked up, causing the splinter to slide though her neck in a spray of energon. Latching onto Ratchets arm, she bucked and threw him over her, sending him flying back into the woods. Once clear, she let out a quick screech, calling Omega who was tearing Cliffjumpers arm off.

* * *

"Sir..." The assistant said from behind the terminal. "Alfa has taken a lot of damage, and some of the Elites are down for good as well. We should withdraw them and upgrade their armor. We should have done it before we sent them."

"I wanted to see how well they could do without it. Omega already has the amour, Alfa is the only one on the field without it. I wanted to see how well she could perform vulnerable. And I must say , not so bad."

"But sir the Alfa suit is almost in shut down mode, you will lose Marias mind."

"Call them back, they have done well for now. Repair the Alfa suit, then send them back to finish the job."

"Yes sir." Typing in the command, he pressed enter.

* * *

Alfa, Omega, and the remaining Elites all spread their wings at the same time, though Alfa herself struggled to get into the air as the other took off.

"Wait!" Ratchet was limping quickly from the woods, he jumped, grabbing Alfa's tail and dragging her back down, though she kicked and smashed her tail up against him to get free. Ratchet released her after a while and watched her fly off.

"What the hell was that all about." Crosshairs helped Cliffjumper up then kicked one of the dead Predicons.

"I am not sure...but whatever it is, it is not good." Optimus slid his battle mask back and watched the beast vanish into the distance. "We won't be able to follow them, we cannot fly."

"Actually." Ratchet came up slowly, a hand on his crushed chests plates. "I placed a tracker on that gray one." Holding up his arm, he showed them the little blip on the map."

"Good work old friend." Optimus patted him on the back.

"Good now we can go in there and kill the lot of'em." Crosshairs smashed his fists together.

"No. Something wasn't right about that Predicon I fought." Ratchet walked away from them and looked into the sky.

**"It knew my name."**


	6. Alfa and Omega

Screaming, Maria jerked up from the table, arms straining against the restraints as her mind was placed back into her natural body.

"Ahhh!" She arched her back, tugging till the veins in her arms popped out.

"For your first run that wasn't so bad. Though the Alfa suit looks in worse shape than you do right now. Every nerve in your body should feel like it is on fire, don't worry it will pass." Lightly, he tugged up her shirt, revealing her large scar. "But the two of you are a good fit." With a smirk, he snapped for his assistants.

"Sir, Alfa suit has taken 57% damage while the Omega suit has only has 20%. The Alfa suit will need to be repaired and the armor installed before it can be run again."

All the suits were lined up against the walls of the lab, held up my massive pulleys and chains. Alfa already had people crawling all over it, patching the holes and placing massive armor on her. A new chest-plate that ran from under Alfas neck all the way down her stomach. Knee guards and a new horn to replace the broken one. Piling on more and more metal, soon the slick body was just as massive as Omega.

"Mount Omega with the guns." Salvatore flipped though a clipboard, reading over results from the suits function.

"What about Alfa? Do you want guns mounted on her as well?"

"No. Omega is the tank, Alfa is the speed. We cannot risk weighting her down. Upgrade the claws and add two blades to the end of her tail. You can place the flamethrower in the both of them. One last thing, upgrade both of their denta. The sharper the better."

"Yes sir." Getting to the task, the assistant hurried by Maria, not even glancing at her as she lay there panting.

"I hate you..." Her voice was cracked.

"Oh, I know. But you will get used to it. Like all of the others, I break them and they do as I say. Besides, the beacon will keep you in my grasp until you finally give up and do as I say."

"Never."

"Then we play the hard way. You took a lot of damage on the field. Remember, if you are damaged to the point of shut down, your mind...well," He placed his hands on his head then pulled them away, "Boom."

Maria glared, her fist clenched so tight her nails began to draw blood in her palms.

"Ratchet will come for me...and so will the others."

"If they do, I will have you personally tear them apart, and I will make sure your optics are nice and polished so you can see it happen perfectly."

"I'll fight you..." Her arms strained again to get free as she started to shout, "I'll fight you till my last breath! I won't stop! Even in Alfa! I won't stop fighting you! I'll kill you with my bear hands!" Monitors and tools began to shake, the Alfa and Omega suit began to shake as Marias powers swelled. "I'll never stop!" As she continued to yell, the corners of her vision began to fade to black.

"I wouldn't want it any other way..." She heard Salvatore say before she passed out. Salvatore snapped for his extra assistants to take her away to the holding cells, then he made his way over to his robots. "How many did we lose this time?"

"We don't have enough resources to build another Alfa or Omega suit. We used the dead ones Omega brought back to patch them both up. These two and two other Elites are left, though it may be only three soon. One took a lot of damage and we are having trouble retrieving the mind from the body. We can no longer build Predicon suits, but small bot suits. That is until we obtain more metal."

"No matter, just keep working with what you have. Soon we will have a few more of the aliens to work with. And once we collect the last of the Autobots, we can move in on the Decepticons."

"But sir, you had a deal with...Shockwave. In return for this data on how to build these things, you would leave them out of it."

"I have left them out of it for the most part, but recently we have enough power to take both sides out and I am going to do it." Pressing his hands together, Salvatore, paced back and forth, his optics dimming as he became lost in thought. It wasn't long before he had been pulled out of it by one of the workers who was repairing the Alfa suit.

"Sir, there is something you should see." Leading him over, he pointed up towards Alfas back leg.

"What is that?" Walking around to get a better look, Salvatore watched a little green light blinking.

"We think it is some sort of tracking device." As the worker spoke, Salvatore used his telekinesis to crush the device into scrap. Yanking it off of Alfa, it clattered to the ground, the little green light flashing no more. "Finish the upgrades quickly. We are running out of time."

* * *

The cell Maria had been thrown into was small, no bed, just a thin mat to lay on, though she could see through glass wall at the person beside her. He was leaning against the glass, not looking at her. He must have been in his late twenties. Though tall, he was built. Not once did he turn around and look at her the whole time she banged against the walls.

"Let me out of here!" She shouted though one of the holes cut in the glass. "You can't keep me here! I'll get out!" Her fist were raw from punching the glass, in some places she had split the skin and bled a little. But she kept punching till blood patches were left on the walls. Falling back onto her little mat, she ran a hand through her hair, a tight knot forming in her throat.

"Fuck I'm so stupid." A chocked sob burst out of her, sobbing into her hands, she let it all out. "Fuck! Fuck!" Trembling, she screamed, everything hurt. Her body, her head, her heart. Nothing wasn't tormenting her.

"Stop already..." The man leaning on the glass said. "It won't change anything." He finally turned, and she could see his bright brown eyes and slightly spiked brown hair. "You won't break out of the cell, others have tried before you. Others have died before you. You and I are not the first, nor probably the last to be in these cells."

"What do you know..." Wiping her nose on her sleeve, she let out a ragged sigh.

"I know you are Alfa..." He sat down, facing the glass so Maria could see him, "And I am Omega."

"You pilot Omega?"

"The same way you Pilot Alfa."

"How did they catch you? I walked into this."

"I used to work for Salvatore. I was his best guard, did some tests on me, and turned out, I passed as an Elite."

"Yeah well...look where it has gotten you. In a cell. Killing good bots."

"Good bots wouldn't have destroyed Chicago."

"They helped us! A lot more would have died if they didn't fight back! Why is that so hard for you people to understand! Bad things happen to good people all the time! And nobody cares! But when something bad happens to important people the whole world goes nuts. Good bots died out there. My mom died out there." She stood and faced Omega's pilot, staring him down. "If you joined them willingly, why are you in a cell?"

"A precaution in case one of us loses it. Some time ago not all of our mental being was transported back to our bodies, and some went crazy. They killed the lab workers, there other pilots, and themselves. So they started caging us to make sure we couldn't hurt anyone or ourselves."

"Or they just want us to fall in line like good little soldiers. But I refuse! We went out there and we attacked my friends! Bots I helped save! Bots that saved me! Helped me rebuild and taught my about their world. And I attacked them!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "And they attacked me."

"You have to face the facts kid, Salvatore is going to have us destroy them. Then make new bots out of them. He will make more pilots. And then who knows what. Best to just let it go."

"NO!" Omega was startled when she punched the glass. "I will not let it go! I will break out!"

"You can try all you want but the beacon keeps us in line. You can break through it sometimes but they always bring you back to their control. So keep trying, but its best to just do as you are told."

"If I had done that I would have never met Ratchet..." Sliding her back down the wall, she sat. "I'll fight it until Ratchet knows it's me. He will figure it out...he has too..."

* * *

Ratchet and the others came to a halt just outside of a small city. Ratchet transformed and knocked on his arm, frustrated that the tracing signal was lost.

"Blast..."

"Maybe the building is being cloaked like the others. Which means we are in the right area." Optimus rolled up beside Ratchet.

"Not close enough. We may not have the time to just search around. We don't know when or if those Predicons are coming back. We don't know what could be happening to Maria. They could be pulling her apart like they had Starscream...or Mirage." He thought back to Donny, who was left to die alone. "I can't waste a moment."

"What are you going to do once we find this...lab? Kill everybody inside?" Crosshairs was rolling along Prime slowly.

"I'll do what I have too." Without Looking at Optimus, Ratchet leaned down and transformed, zooming off into the city. "She won't be too hard to find. All of the labs are designed the same. Just look for the right building...then break in."

Pacing back and forth, Maria looked at her hands, from her spine right to her fingertips, everything felt on fire. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she kicked her mat aside.

"You need to relax. The more stress you put on your body the worse you will feel. Having your mind moved around is no easy task. And you risk becoming a vegetable every time. That hot feeling I know you are feeling right now is a sign your body is rejecting the patch. Which in time it will fade but if you keep trying to fight the beacon like that you will blow your own mind out. Others have done it. I have seen it. Not a pretty sight. Like rabid dogs they just turn. And I have never seen one come back from that."

"So what, I do as they say and lose my mind? Or I don't and I lose my mind anyway?" She watched Omega shrug. "So be it..."

Salvatore knocked on Marias glass cell, amused at her exhausted look.

"Good news my little lady," He opened the cell door and pinned her to the floor with his ability. "You have gotten your wish! You bots have been spotted outside the city. The bad news, they pretty much just doomed themselves. Since they just self served themselves to me."

"They...will fight back." Trying as hard as she could to push herself off of the floor, her eyes hinted at a faint blue. Her powers struggling to overpower Salvatore's.

"Oh I know they will. But it is not me who they will be fighting. Alfa and Omega will be. And the even better news is that the Alfa suit is now combat ready. You should be able to take a lot more hits now. The Predeicon suits do not have T-cogs though, none of the suits do, since I do not have the desire to have my beauties transform into useless vehicles. So you don't have to worry about that weighting you down." Looking towards Omega, he continued, "Omega now has two large cannons on his back. You will be unable to fly with them out so make sure you plan your moves correctly." Opening all of the cells, he lead the remaining Elites to their tables and laid them down to begin the cerebral patch.

Maria had been lifted in the air by Salvatore's powered and slammed down on the table. No matter how hard she struggled they slipped the nodes on her and she was gone.

Both Alfa and Omegas optics flickered online, and once again Maria was trapped inside a body she couldn't control.

_No!_

_No!_

_Let me out!_

Alfa bucked, roaring as the assistants began to type in commands for the Alfa suit to follow.

Omega held perfectly still, only once did his optics look over to the struggling Predicon, he snored steam in response.

"Alfa," Salvatore stood before them, "Omega."

Alfa dug her new claws into the ground, now much sharper, they sliced through the concrete like butter.

"Your mission is to eradicate the remaining bots and bring them here for smelting, Protect the lab from them." As he spoke, the beacon emitted the orders to them, forcing them to stand strait.

_It hurts_

_Everything hurts_

_Why does this body hurt so much_

_Why_

_Fight it_

_Maira fight it!_

_You can get control!_

The chains dropped, and Alfa and Omega were shooting up and out the ceiling into the sky. Omega flew in front of her, his white armor something to marvel at, but his red optics might as well have been filled with blood.

All Maria could do was let the Alfa suit lead her to the bots, then the real battle would start. Not just with them but against herself. She had to get the message across to one of them that she was trapped in Alfas body without killing them or herself.

Omega suddenly nose dived, and the Alfa suit jerked to follow, but she didn't snag a car like he had. Instead her body slammed down on top of Optimus, crushing the back of his trailer and causing it to unhitch.

Omega flew strait up, releasing Crosshairs and letting the bot free fall. Though Omega let out a roar of anger when he saw Crosshairs had parachutes. He dove, mouth agape, flames engulfed Crosshairs as the two of them crashed down in the outskirts.

The remaining Elites now came down, occupying the rest of the bots while Alfa tore open Primes trailer.

"Raaaaaaaa!" Jumping off as the Trailer caught the ground and flipped, she glided and landed elegantly.

"Looks like they got upgrades..." Battle mask down, Optimus' cannons were drawn.

"I can tell..." Ratchet charged Alfa, and she charged him back, the two colliding in a loud bang.

"RRRrrraaaaaaa!" Roaring in his face, she felt him punch her gut, though this time it wasn't as painful with the new armor. Several more punches came until Ratchet was winded and stood back, his fist raised.

"How do you know my name..." His medical blades slid from his wrists and he tapped them together, drawing sparks.

_Its me Ratchet!_

_Maria!_

_Its me!_

_Please Ratchet I'm here!_

_I'm here!_

**_Please_**

Alfa spun, her tail knocking the doctor off his feet. Trying to collect himself, Ratchet was slammed down when Maria jumped on him. Sinking one of her hands into his chest, she buried her claws into him. The Alfa suit hissed in amusement, raising her free hand in the air, she extended her claws, planning on bringing it down through his Optics.

_Kill him_

_**NO**_

_FIGHT IT MARIA!_

Alfas hand came down fast, but her claw came to a stop on his big nose. Ratchet had flinched, but when he opened his Optics, he could see her arm trembling, as if she was struggling to keep herself from hitting him.

**_kill_**

_I WON'T!_

The claw dug into the doctor, drawing energon, but as he watched Alfa struggle, he could see her optics shifting from blue to red.

_Don't do it_

_Fight it!_

_Fight it!_

_Come on!_

_Please!_

Slowly, Alfas arm reseeded back and she stared down at ratchet with blue optics. Ratchet opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off with a low growl.

"Rrrrraaaatttt-" The deep voice cracked, "Rrraaaaattcheett." Her optics flickered again and she hissed. "Mmmmmmaaaaa-" Her head jerked back as a powerful blast from the beacon reset her orders, snapping her optics back to red. "RRAAAA!" She brought her clawed hand back up and then down, but Ratchet was ready. Jamming both of his blades up into her chest, he pushed her up and threw her over his head.

_No!_

_Ratchet!_

_Please Ratchet recognize me!_

Energon flowed from her eyes as she stood back up, shaking off the dirt. She charged him again and again, and they traded blows till Ratchet was the one to fall this time. Alfa advanced, approaching Ratchet who was on one knee.

"Just tell me where she is." Spitting Energon, he looked at the Predicon, again he watched its eyes flicker the two colors.

_Ratchet..._

"Raaatchet..." The voice sounded a little more clear now. "Raaatchet. Ratchet. Ratchet. Ratchet! RATCHET! RATCHETRATCHETRATCHETRACTEHT!" Alfa began to howl the name, her voice modulator finally kicking in.

_Yes!_

_That's it!_

_Keep yelling!_

_The beacon can't stop me forever!_

Ratchet watched the monster until he heard a loud roar from behind him. Omega rammed Ratchet from behind, sending him flaying past Alfa.

Rrrrraa...tchet." She turned, her blue optics filled with fear as she looked at the white beast.

"If you cannot finish the job I will for you." Omega never moved his mouth, but she could hear him speaking to her.

_No..._

Watching Omega leap on Ratchet, he began to maul him.

"RRRRRNOOOOOO!" Sideswiping Omega, Alfa bit his neck, dragging him to the ground. The two grappled with one another long enough for Optimus to drag Ratchet away.

"What in Primus is happening!?" Optimus watched as Alfa spun, the blades on her tail Catching one of Omegas wings, slicing it clean off.

"Sir something has gone wrong." An assistant was typing frantically on the command console. "Alfa and Omega are fighting one another. And Omega is taking too much damage. It seems that Alfa has broken away from the beacon momentarily."

"Then fix it before she tears him apart!" Salvatore slammed his fist down on the desk. "Order Omega back here! And patch him to my personal remote." Putting on a head set, Salvatore began to speak into it. "Omega! Retreat back to the lab. Retreat back to the lab! Do not engage Alfa"

Omegas head turned towards the beacons signal. With one last knock back, he tossed Alfa aside and began to gallop away, though Alfa was close behind him, followed by the remaining bots.

"Don't lose sight of them! This is our chance to find the lab!" Ratchets alt mode looked like he had been in a head on collision, but he drove on, going as fast as he could to keep up with the speeding beasts.

* * *

It wasn't long before they crashed though the buildings walls, guns drawn on the staff.

"Everybody get out!" Crosshairs said, his coat was ripped in all sorts of places from his battle. He stormed the rooms with cliffjumper and Tailgate, cleaning out the rooms until they reached the main lab.

There Salvatore stood atop a balcony, Omega at one side, and Alfa standing in front of both of them. Her optics still flickering, she could feel energon creeping from her Optics.

"Welcome!" Salvatore said as the bots, his arms spread, almost as if he were ready to conduct an orchestra.

"You have a lot to answer for." Optimus stepped forward, though he had to block Ratchet from running in. "What have you done with the Maria?" His optics scanned the room until he saw her, in Omegas hand. Her lip body was tightly sealed in his clawed hand.

"Oh don't worry, she is fine. As of right now. But in a few minutes she might not be!" Snapping his fingers, Omega began to squeeze Marias Natural body, threatening to crush her.

Alfa stepped forwards, a loud screech leaving her as she could only watch her real body slip from her. "RRrrrrrrrrr!" She took a step forwards but Omega growled at her and she remained back.

"You'll kill her!" Ratchet jumped forwards but Optimus held him back with a large hand.

"You will be the judge of that. Since she seems to be head over heels about you, I'll leave it up to you to save her." Salvatore leaned against the railing, smiling down at Alfa. "If you can destroy Elite Alfa, I'll give you the girl." his smile turned into a sadistic grin when he saw Alfa turn and look at Ratchet, horror in her eyes.

_No_

_Ratchet_

_Don't listen to him!_

_The body is empty!_

_I'm in here!_

_I'm here!_

Alfas mouth opened, but only a low whine came out. Looking back at Salvatore, she roared. The beacons effect on her was still biting at her, but she still had enough free will now to not harm Ratchet.

"And what happens If I don't?"

"If you refuse to battle, I kill her and sick my pets on you. But if you do as told and win you get the girl. If you do as told and lose, you have to give me all of your T-cogs. And surrender all knowledge you have enough your biology to us."

_Please don't accept!_

_It's a trick!_

_Ratchet!_

Alfa watched Ratchet think about it for a moment, then glace up at Optimus who put a hand on his shoulder.

"Lets finish this then." The blades came out and Ratchet charged, but Alfa didn't move. Allowing the Medic to ram her, she went down, both blades deep in her chest and should. She wailed, her tail slamming against the ground in protest.

"RRRRAAAATTTTTCH-" She tried to cry out, but Ratchet yanked the blades out and stabbed again and again and again till Alfas armor began to drop to the floor in chunks. The struggled under him, tears flowing from her eyes.

_Stop!_

_Please ratchet_

_You're hurting me!_

_Ratchet!_

In an attempt to keep herself alive, she bit one of ratchets arms, her fangs sinking in deep enough that h couldn't bend the arm. He jerked it around and stabbed her in the neck once in an attempt to have her let go but she didn't.

"Yes that's it! You're getting closer and closer to having her!" Salvatore was laughing hysterically. "Just a bit more!" Pulling up the readings for the Alfa suit, he enjoyed the bright red flashing signs telling that the suit was taking too much damage. Snapping his fingers, he had Omega stop his foot, causing Ratchet to stop his stabbing spree and look up.

"Oh this has been fun. But I am a busy man and as much as I enjoy robot death matches, I don't have all day to waste on this." Snapping his fingers again, Omega set one large claw over Maria's chest, driving it though.

"_**NOO**_!" Ratchet screamed, followed by Alfa howling, her Optics going wide in horror.

_NO!_

_NO!_

**_NO!_**

It was all in slow motion, watching her body drop to the floor, a gaping hole in her chest and a pool of blood quickly collecting around it.

"Opps." Salvatore could see the burning rage in Ratchets eyes. "Oh that's not even the best part." Typing into the console by his side, he tapped on Alfas voice modulator, pushing it from 5% to 100%

"Rat...Ratchet..." Alfa spoke, her voice no longer deep and fuzzy. "It's me. It's me..." The predicon gagged, energon pooling around her. "It's me..."

Ratchet dropped to his knees, disbelief in his optics, he leaned down, listening to Maria's voice. "Primus...Maria..."

"It's...me. It was me." Sobbing could he heard though gags and ragged breathing. "It hurts..." Her Optics flickered, she was fading. "Ratchet it...hurts." She could feel him pulling her head into his arms, hugging her tight.

"Forgive me..." He whispered into her audio receptors. "What have I done..." His spark ached, all this time...all the fighting. It was her.

"I don't think I am making...it out of this one..." Unable to move her lower half, she just allowed Ratchet to cradle her. The two of them so far from reality they didn't see the others sharing forwards, jumping Omega and taking him down first before going after Salvatore. Crosshairs blasted Omega in the head, taking out the container his very mind was in, sending his pilots mind into oblivion.

"I'm glad...I didn't kill you..." She let out a small laugh, she could feel Ratchet stroking her neck with the most gentle touch she had ever felt. "I tried so hard to keep myself...from hurting you." Her optics flickered again, and she sighed. "It was a good run." She couldn't see Ratchets face to well.

"Shh...save your strength." His voice was so soothing, or maybe it was just like that because she was on the line of crossing over. She couldn't feel Ratchets scalpel pressed to a main energon line in her neck. One cut and the connection would be severed and her brain would be sent to oblivion as well. He kept it pressed there, not sure if he had what it took to end her suffering.

"Ratchet..." Listing her head a bit, she laid it back down in a more comfortable spot in his lap. "I love you."

Her voice box creaked to a halt, leaving her unable to speak again.

The tears came streaming down Ratchets face, his bladed hand shaking as he silently cried. He could see her Optics fading out slowly. Looking around, he saw Omegas fallen body, then looked back at Alfa.

**_"Just hold on Maria."_**


	7. My name is Alfa

Ratchet tore Omega apart, yanking pieces of his armor clean off and tossing them close to Alfa. Stripping the beast till it was practically an exoskeleton.

"Drift _help me_!" Ratchet snapped, alarming him at his sudden urgency. "Start handing me those pieces."

"You're going to try to repair her?" He seemed doubtful she would make it. Her optics flickered on and offline constantly, she was struggling to stay with them.

"Yes! Now start handing me pieces! We're running out of time! I have to stop the energon leaks." As he spoke his hands were already buried deep into Alfas torso. Yanking the armor apart, he started to close open veins. Drift watched energon squirt out and spray all over Ratchets chest, and for a moment he felt faint, only snapping out of it when Ratchet snapped one of Omegas pieces.

"Drift move!" A large armor chunk was set in his hand and he began welding her back together.

"Ratchet...she doesn't look to good." Handing off another piece, Drift gently placed a hand on Alfas head, her optics still flickering. A loud squeal suddenly escaped her jaws as Ratchet jammed another piece onto her, holding her down as best as he could, he kept welding her seems.

"I'm not going to let her slip away on me!" More veins were sealed, holes patched, but her condition didn't improve. "She's lost to much energon." Ratchet began to panic. Energon was rare enough, but none had been around him currently to give her. "She's bleeding out to fast still." Diving back in, he had Drift hold her down, her tail whipping against the ground in frustration as the surgery continued.

"Get me the cannons on Omegas back..." He trailed off, looking in Alfas optics for a moment. He could almost see Maria banging on the glass on the inside, now trapped in a body that wasn't hers with no hope of ever returning to her own. "Just hold on a little more." Taking the cannons, he connected them to her, lining up her power lines and veins, he crisscrossed them with unchallenged skill. Drift could only watch in awe as he worked.

Slowly Alfas body was stitched together in a quick patch job. Low growls escaped her, still unable to speak words to them.

_Get away_

_Get away_

_The Beacon_

_I can still feel it_

_Don't finish fixing me_

_Get back_

_The beacon!_

Something pulsed though Alfas head and she jerked up, mouth open and fangs extended, she lunged for drift who was quick to dodge.

"Get back Ratchet!" Drift tackled the doctor as Alfa jumped again, though she didn't get to far, one of her hind-legs so badly damaged it dragged behind her. Red optics burned in her metallic skull and steam erupted from her nose.

"**Kill.**.." Her voice was deep and resonated though the room.

"What's going on?" Drift had his swords drawn, ready to strike.

"She's under some kind of control. Something has to be controlling her! Look around!" Ratchet began stomping on computer terminals, but nothing changed Alfas sinister optics.

"I have to thank you..." Salvatore's voice boomed though the room, halting Ratchets assault. "For fixing my robot."

"She doesn't _belong_ to you..." Ratchets words were like acid, but his angry expression changed when he saw Salvatore inside of a Mecha suit. Taking a step back when Salvatore stepped a large foot forwards, he smashed his fists together. "Those parts..." Ratchet trailed off, horrified at all of the transformer pieces welded together to form this super mech.

"What is this horror house." Drift could see pieces of Mirage, Starscream, Insecticons, and several Decepticons. "How are we going to take that down!?" Salvatore's suit was built like a tank, standing slightly taller than Optimus himself.

"She does now. My beacon stopped transmitting for a while, but I fixed it now. Which means my Elite Alfa is once again under my control."

"Mind telling us wear this beacon is so we can smash it!" Drift hit his swords together, drawing sparks in anticipation.

"I **_AM_** the beacon!" Salvatores Optics glowed bright blue as he send Alfa a direct order, and she lunged. Ratchet caught her jaws, his feet sliding back a bit from the impact.

"Drift! Take care of Salvatore! Do whatever it takes! I'll keep Maria busy! Just hurry!" Twisting Alfas head, she went down, but knocked Ratchet over with her tail. He was quick to block her bit, taking the blow to his arm rather than his chest. She shook him like a dog shakes a toy, shredding his arm platting.

* * *

Drift dashed around, his speed unmatched as he jumped, spun, and sliced down one of Salvatore's legs. Normally the move would have sliced any normal bots leg off, but Salvatore's suit only suffered a large gash. Sparks flew from the wound and he heard the man laugh, taunting him.

"I'm not done yet!" Again and again and again he dashed, slicing his way up to Salvatore's head where his body was wired in. Before Drift could jam a blade though the class, a large hand swatted him out of the air.

The samurai smashed though the wall, rolling into the next room where the others had been occupied by the smaller mechs Salvatore had. Covered in rubble, his optics faded out, the impact knocking him out,

"Kill him!" Salvatore shouted, a large hand pointing at Alfa. "Tear him apart!"

Alfa roared, biting down again and again and again onto Ratchet. Grabbing him with her tail, she threw him, watching him come down hard on some desks.

"Fight back!" She snarled, slowly making her way to him. "Fight back!" jumping on top of him, she hissed. "Fight!" slashing him several times, she grew frustrated that all he did was block. Once again she threw him, but this time he slammed against a wall, leaving a deep depression and sliding down. A hand covering his chest, he looked up, blurry optics struggling to focus. "Why won't you fight back!" She was going to strike him again, but halted her blow when he began to speak.

"Because I have hurt you enough..." His head shook, and his voice was ragged. "You've been hurt enough. Tormented. Alone all this time." He kept looking down, now unable to look her in the optics. "You lost your mother, then your father just to save me..." A fist clenched, then hit the ground in sorrow. "And I turned my back and they took Donny from you. And you don't even know it..."

Alfa shifted her weight, a sudden paint expression crossing her face. Optics still bright red, a low growl rumbled in her throat.

"He told me not to disappoint you, but here I am. I couldn't save Bee's voice box. I couldn't stitch Jazz back together. I couldn't stop Ironhide from rusting." The tears came streaming down his face, and he pulled a hand up to brush them away. "And I couldn't save you. I enjoyed just...sitting and stargazing with you. Teaching you how to fix bots. Teaching you our language. All of those times I told you that you talked to much...what I would give to hear you go on a tangent right now."

"_Ratchet_..." Alfa whispered, her optics still red, she turned murder on her face. "I'll kill you..."

"What!? _HOW_!? Salvatore shouted, sending her more commands to follow, he cursed when she started to advance on him. Before he knew it, Alfa was atop the bot, her claws scraping at the glass shielding he was behind. "I would rather you have lived! But you have become more trouble than you are worth. I'll kill you myself." Grabbing her tail, he slammed her into the ground, sending rubble scattering. A dust cloud rose, but out of it came large blasts from Omegas cannons. The shots knocked Salvatore back, his suit stumbling on itself. Taking advantage of the bulky suits weight, Alfa jumped from the dust and rammed him, cracking the glass protecting Salvatore and knocking him over.

The ground shock with earthquake likeness, causing the buildings lights to flicker and the remaining wall to collapse.

Alfa, still on top of Salvatore's mech, bashed her fists against the suit, ripping pieces off in chinks and throwing them aside. He had nowhere to go now, with the suit knocked over it was like a turtle on its back. With one last bash, the glass shattered, and a large hand ripped Salvatore from the Mech.

"I _told you_ I would kill you..." Alfa held the man up to her face, her fangs shimmering as Salvatore struggled.

"Put me down, Kill the bot!" He commanded, and for a moment Alfa froze, but she fought it off, the beacons strength fading in her mind and her optics turning a light blue.

"I never listen to my father...what makes you any different." She squeezed, enjoying the yelp Salvatore let out. She felt him blast the side of her head with telekinesis, but it didn't faze her. "I was hoping you would over use your powers, forcing them to go dormant. Like mine had. Like a recharge almost. I knew it would only be a matter of time." Looking down, she saw her real body laying on her back. Blood still pooling around it. From the wound Omega has inflicted, his claw had severed her spine, leaving no hope of healing. "But time was always against me it seems..." Feeling the last of the beacons power flow out of her, she smiled when Salvatore's optics faded.

"How did you-" Alfa squeezed, crushing the man in her hand, keeping her fist closed, she watched the blood spurt from between her fingers.

"Starscream was right..._humans are squishy_..."

Ratchet looked up, Alfas head was low by him, offering him a horn to use to help stand up.

"Is it you..." Wincing as he stood, he smiled at her blue optics. "It's over now." Pulling her head close, he hugged her. "It's finally over."

"You never disappointed me either Ratchet." A large tongue slithered from Alfas mouth and she licked the side of his face. "You have been nothing but the best."

"Come on, we have to check on the others." Using Alfa as a crutch, they made their way over to wear Drift had been buried. It only took a few seconds to dig him out, but he was still unconscious.

"Drift." Ratchet knelt by him, shaking him a bit till his optics turned online.

"Next time...you get the big guy." Haling him to his feet, Ratchet brushed him off and laughed.

The other emerged as well, beat up but not to damaged.

"What happened?" Optimus flicked his arm, his cannon flying back into his arm. "All of the suits just...dropped."

"The beacon was destroyed." Alfa spoke. "You don't have to worry about them anymore. I am all that is left." A little nervous that Optimus wouldn't accept her, she looked down, her tail sagging.

"I am glad you are alive." Kneeling down, Optimus put a hand on her head, laughing softly as her tail wagged. "It is unfortunate that you lost your true body, but may this new one aid you in the future."

"I don't have much of an art career now..." She sighed, shifting her weight off of her wounded leg.

"Good thing we have an opening." Ratchet crossed his arms, looking at Optimus for approval.

**"Welcome to the Autobots, Alfa."**

* * *

**END**

* * *

**A/n Thank you to all of my readers for following Maria on her second journey. For those of you who do not know I based this Story off of the G1 Episode "AutoBot Spike" If you have not seen it I suggest watching it! I couldn't say in the beginning because I didn't want to spoil anything! Please do note that there will be other stories with Maria in them Stories that land on timelines NOT relating to this story or Awakening. So do look out for other adventures!**


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